Lost and Found (Growing Pains #1)(19)

Thanks a million!

-Sean

She couldn’t help but notice how formal the first email was, and how loose the second was. It was like he sent the first email without looking at who the researcher was, then realized it was her and tried to use his influence to call out a favor. If he didn’t use her name in the first email, she would have paid it no more mind. As it was, it seemed like there was a tiny bit of manipulation going on.

On the other hand, Sean could help, whereas Mr. Montgomery wouldn’t. Being that Sean was the best salesman in the company, his critical eye was as good as getting a private lesson directly from the teacher. She just had to make sure he was always out in public, and therefore responsible for his actions. She really didn’t want her first real presentation marred by a sexual harassment suit. Or a kick to the groin.

~*~*~*~

Four full work days of complete focus later, Krista sat back and looked at her finished report. She’d done two edits and two final checks, and now it was ready to be sent.

The presentation wasn’t for another two weeks, so she didn’t have to work so diligently, but she had little else to do and a lot she didn’t want to think about—like the latest date and his love of birds--so she worked on it almost exclusively. She wasn’t hammering it out like normal, either. She took her time, learned the software, did some Photoshop, and tinkered with the visuals. She wanted it to pass her personal inspection before it went out to the powers that be. And she had exacting standards.

In the end, despite her aversions to Sean, she did care what he thought. Obviously he was doing something right in his professional career to be where he was. Logically, she should listen to his every word so some of his success might rub off.

In truth, though, she wanted to stand out. She wanted to prove she was better than the sleaze-buckets he took home. That she was worth something, that she was more than just tits and ass. She wanted respect, damn it. R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

I’m dumb.

When she was finished, she paused in her fifth rendition of Aretha Franklin’s song. To help Sean, or not to help Sean. The power was in her hands.

Who was she kidding? Sometimes she was bitchy, but overall she wasn’t a bitch. Or spiteful.

Hi Sean,

Per your request, here is a copy of my presentation. It was sent to Mr. Montgomery earlier today. I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention that I sent it to you directly—he gets touchy about that sort of thing.

Any feedback you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Krista

Faster than a flash, she received back:

Dear Krista,

Understood.

-Sean

She stared at the screen for a minute, looked away, and then looked back at the email just in case she missed part of the message.

No, she was right the first time--it was a pretty simple message.

It was the simplicity that was misleading. Did he understand she was going out on a limb for him? If so, where was the gratitude? What did he think about it being her first presentation? Did that worry him? Did he have confidence in her? There was so much more going on than “understood” could portray.

Could he have at least given her a sentence so that she could read into it a bit more? Cripes, she had nothing else to do, dissecting his code like she was in high school would have at least passed the hours.

And while she was on the “I hate Sean” bandwagon, why bother with the Dear Krista shenanigans? And why sign his name? The email said who the sender was; she didn’t need him to double up the info.

She sighed, loudly, and leaned back in her chair. Then she went for coffee. Her friend Peet was always willing to lend an ear while selling his wares.

The next day there was an email waiting in her inbox. Thankfully it was from Sean. Thankfully because she had slept horribly worried that he would accidently, or not accidentally, tell Mr. Montgomery that she sent it directly to him. She would get in serious trouble if her boss found out.

Krista—

Fantastic work! You get a gold star for this. And thanks for breaking protocol sending it ahead of time—your secret is safe with me. Any problems and don’t hesitate to say I strong-armed you.

I have noted some minor changes that would help on a macro level. As soon as James sends me his version (which I doubt will have any changes), I will send these changes to him so we are all on the same page. I will not mention you already received these notes.

I also have some art mock-ups. If you wanted to pop by my office I could briefly show you what we are looking at in terms of overall feel. It would help you to know how you fit into the overall layout. Please let me know if you have time for this.

Thanks again on such a thorough job. I knew I would be in safe hands. 

-Sean

Well, now, that’s more like it!

Krista smiled to herself. Her worry had been stupid. Of course Sean would understand! Thank God!

She got to work right away on his notes, which were both insightful and easy to change, then got her mug and headed down to meet him with a bounce in her step. It wasn’t until she stepped out of the elevator that she paused. That she realized where she was going. Alone.

Her stomach filled with butterflies and her fist tightened on her lucky mug.

“This is not a big deal,” she whispered to herself.

Taking a big breath, stepping out of the line of fire into a fake, bushy plant, which was only weird if she got caught, she took stock of her situation. She was here for business. She was not here to meet him in some kind of intimate tryst. He was funny and nice to talk to, but so were a million people. His handsome face and freaking god-like body just meant he was bad news to boot. No mystery there. She’d already catalogued that fact.